SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College Football Team (3-2, 1-2 SAC) overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit to defeat Emory & Henry College (2-3, 0-3 SAC) Saturday evening in South Atlantic Conference play.

The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Catawba 30, Emory & Henry 13
LOCATION – Salisbury, North Carolina
VENUE – Shuford Stadium
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (2-3, 0-3 SAC); Catawba (3-2, 1-2 SAC)

How It Happened
   The two teams exchanged three-and-out possessions to start the game, but the Wasps would get on the scoreboard first. E&H marched down the field on 13 plays, including a pair of third-down conversions, and sophomore kicker Trace Butcher (Dacula, Ga.) drilled a 38-yard field goal to put the visitors from Emory up 3-0.
   Catawba drove all the way down to the Emory & Henry 15 yardline with their next possession, using 15 plays and over six minutes of clock. The Catawba Indians decided to go for the conversion on fourth down, but sophomore defensive back Jacob Robinson (Warrenton, Va.) broke up a pass at the goal line and the Wasps forced the turnover on downs.
   After an E&H punt, Catawba got on the board on their next drive. The Catawba Indians pushed the ball down to the Wasps' 27 before the drive would stall and Bryson Simms connected on a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
   The Wasps responded on the following possession with big plays to move the ball quickly down the field. Sophomore wide receiver Cam Peoples (Reidsville, N.C.) ripped off a 24-yard rush and senior quarterback Kyle Short (Lebanon, Ohio) found redshirt freshman wide receiver Cam Abshire (Roanoke, Va.) for 20 more yards to put E&H in the red zone. Senior running back J'Quan Anderson (Charlottesville, Va.) galloped into the endzone from 16 yards out to put the Wasps up 10-3 at the halftime break.
   Catawba came out of the break and forced an interception on the opening Emory & Henry possession of the second half. The Indians were unable to advance the ball and Simms converted his second field goal of the game, this attempt from 40 yards.
   On the ensuing kickoff, the home team created another turnover as they forced the returner to cough up the football. Once again the Wasps' defense stood strong and forced a third field goal from 32 yards for Simms to reduce the E&H lead to 10-9.
   The Catawba Indians pushed ahead at the end of the third quarter when Malcolm Wilson broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown scamper to cap off an eight play 69-yard drive. The extra point was good and Catawba held a 16-10 advantage.
   The script was flipped in the opening moments of the fourth quarter when Emory & Henry was the beneficiary of a forced fumble. The Wasps could not find the end zone, but Butcher drilled the second-longest field goal in program history from a distance of 50 yards to close the gap to 16-13.
   The back-and-forth second half continued when Catawba quarterback Preston Brown found Kobe Christian for 55 yards to put the Indians in scoring position. LJ Turner plunged into the end zone from nine yards out on the next play to increase their lead to 23-13 with 11:22 to play.
   Turner struck again a few minutes later when he broke through the line and found paydirt for an 11-yard score, ballooning the margin to 30-13. The Wasps could not mount a rally and Catawba held on for the victory.

Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
   Anderson led the offensive attack for the Wasps with 89 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown while junior running back Malikk Kennedy (Miami, Fla.) had 25 yards on the ground.
  Short finished the day with 87 yards on 12-for-25 attempts through the air.
  Peoples had seven catches for 37 yards as Abshire caught a pair of passes for 33 yards. Junior River Carter (Abingdon, Va.) notched two receptions for 14 yards.
  Defensively, junior linebacker Kaleb Lundy (Winston-Salem, N.C.) led all players with 12 tackles. Senior defensive back Addison Knicely (Mount Crawford, Va.) notched six stops including a tackle for loss while junior linebacker Josh McCray (Richmond, Va.) went for six tackles.

Catawba Individual Leaders
  Brown threw for 178 yards on 9-for-23 passing, hitting Christian with two 55-yard passes for 110 total yards. Bo Pryor caught four balls for 45 yards.
  Turner rushed 16 times for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Wilson added 58 yards on the ground.
  Evan Simons made seven tackles to lead the Indians including two for loss with Denoris Wardlow going for seven stops. Joshua Pixley registered the lone interception of the afternoon for Catawba.

A Deeper Look
  Catawba outgained Emory & Henry 422 to 226 on total offense as E&H managed just 87 yards through the air. Both teams struggled on third down, combining to make only eight first downs on 29 attempts for a 27.6% conversion rate.
  The contest saw the Wasps punt seven times for a 42.3-yard average compared to just three punts for a 35.7-yard average for Catawba.
  Catawba took advantage of two Emory & Henry turnovers while committing only one of its own. The Indians scored six points off turnovers in the contest.

Up Next
  Emory & Henry will make the short trip to Wise, Virginia next Saturday, October 7 to face off against the University of Virginia's College at Wise in Southwest Virginia Bowl VI. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at Carl Smith Stadium.

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